Endymion
by Argentus
Summary: Yuuhi races after an impossible dream...but he is not alone. Oneshot, Yuuhi x...well you'll figure it out. Oneshot


**A/N: This pairing is my guilty pleasure; although there's little evidence for it, there's a lot of potential! As far I'm concerned, only a goddess is worthy of Yuuhi Aogiri. Tee hee!**

**Disclaimer: Ayashi no Ceres, Aya Mikage, Ceres, Tooya, and Yuuhi Aogiri all belong to Yuu Watase. Though I wish Yuuhi belonged to me. sulk**

**Endymion**

**by Argentus**

_How the pale Phoebe, hunting in a grove,  
First saw the boy Endymion, from whose eyes  
She took eternal fire that never dies;  
How she conveyed him softly in a sleep,  
His temples bound with poppy, to the steep  
Head of Old Latmos, where she stoops each night,  
Gilding the mountain with her brother's light,  
To kiss her sweetest_

The Faithful Shepherdess, Act 1, Scene III

"Aya!"

A young man's voice, my voice, cutting into the silence of the tranquil meadow. The long transparent grass blades shuddered with its echo, the weak sun a sole witness to this surreal spectacle: me chasing after an impossible dream

"Yuuhi…"

Impossible chiming crystal in her voice, amber in her eyes…Where was I, what was I doing here, why was she calling out to me so sweetly?

Her silky purple hair whipped into the wind like a siren's, somehow, I knew she was leading me into dangerous ground

Yet I followed her, half blinded by the glare of the platinum sky. She parted the grass like a delicate forest creature and I lagged behind, my robes torn and my lungs blazing from exhaustion.

"Wait!" I yelled, trying to keep up with her graceful romp across the never-ending meadow that I had somehow found myself in. "Wait…please…Aya!"

Racing into madness.

The air was clean and pure but it stung the back of my throat and made my eyes water. Splinters pricked my bare feet and one particularly sharp blade caught me across the cheek, drawing blood. I tasted the lone red drop that tickled my lips briefly

Bitter metallic irony. This place was a façade, still I raced.

And I never noticed the clouds creeping closer towards the sun until the meadow was suffused in sudden gloom. I gasped, stumbling dead in my tracks and peered wildly about into the shadows.

Transparent dancing grass blades, as far as the eye could see. Where…was…she…

_Oh no. _"No", I whispered, clutching vainly for a handful of nothing. Out of a corner of my eye, I saw a gossamer blur, but when I turned to face it, it vanished. "Aya," I murmured, and wrapped my torn robes closer to my body. The gentle breeze had grown into chill. I was lost, lost without her. "Aya?"

_Aya aya aya aya…_her name in echoes, wandering through the meadow, mocking me. The breeze whispered her name over and over again…or was it just my voice?

A woman materialized in front of me and I stood, dazed and confused. Aya was right behind her, laughter childlike, leaping through the damned meadow and ignoring me. _Aya's laugh_ …I had never failed in making her laugh like that…

I stared straight ahead, not seeing the woman's face…until her white arms encircled me and pulled me close

And then Aya was gone. There was only the breeze and the grass and the woman and me…my mind went blank, devoid of everything but her name

"Ceres…"

* * *

My face was buried in his neck and I almost whimpered. The beat of his youthful heart set my celestial pulse in sweet dizzying motion. A boy, barely a man, dewy scent of his innocence, his lithe fluid body trembling against my fingers. I raised my head and pressed my lips gently against his, expecting him to pull away.

He surprised me by shyly responding. The rapturous taste of his purity seeped into me once more

I should have been infuriated. The tower of my goddess pride should have shaken at the thought of a lowly mortal devouring passion from my kisses. But him…oh him, I couldn't refuse…this dear boy, beloved among humans.

He was weakening even as he trembled with response to the fierce kisses that left his lips swollen. My hands roamed his strong back, and I felt him lean into my touch, yielding completely.

Then with what little strength he had left, he pushed me, he pushed his angel away before the spell stole his senses. He was breathing hard, his reddened lips slightly parted. The traces of passion slowly sapped the sparkle from his eyes.

And he stared at me with such a young, lost expression of terrible sorrow that beads of moisture surged up behind my eyes.

Was this really happening? I could remember only one time I allowed myself to feel so tender towards another. And yet here he stood, radiating sadness, the tragedy of lost love.

"Why," Yuuhi spoke in a pitiful hollow voice. "Why won't she love me, Ceres?"

_Why_ _indeed_…

_Because she is a fool_, I thought, trying desperately to conceal my anger. "I don't know, Yuuhi. I don't know, my dear" _Because she is so blinded by the magnificence of the man who saved her that she never allowed herself to drown into the luminous blinding beauty of your soul. But within her, I saw it all, Yuuhi. I saw it in the spark of your eyes, in the tenderness of your smile, in the formidable strength of your spirit. And your heart,a heart that still persists to love despite being hurt so many times… I saw it all, dear Yuuhi._

Among the pale, waving grasses of this evanescent meadow, I marveled to see his usual fire extinguished. He looked a lost child, shivering at the rushing wind that tugged at his hair and tore his dark-blue robes into tatters. The bewildered look never left his face. Blood flowed into his cheeks when I traced my fingers over the curves, and down the slope of his nose, and finally, his soft lips.

Hazel in amber, his gaze struggled to escape mine. "Why," he started, obviously trying to quell the rush of his emotions and senses. I shook my head and leaned forward to kiss him again, this time with gentle acknowledgement of his purity. He sighed against me and I knew his young, mortal heart was wounded by Aya in a way I would never understand.

And within his surging breast, I could still hear the unspoken question

"_Why…"_

"…_why do _you_ love me, Ceres?"_

* * *

It was the hard wooden floor of the dojo and not softly crushed grass. Yuuhi lay still for quite a while before realizing it was morning. He could hear the birds chirping and the soft wash of sunlight shone through the thin shoji walls.

Sometime in the night, he had thrown off his covers. They were tangled on the tatami bed…he had rolled right off it. Yuuhi groaned, still halfway trapped within the webs of sleep. Blinked and breathed hard, though tranquil bliss seemed to be coursing through his veins.

In his dreams…where had he been?

The sky, he distinctly remembered tipping his head toward the blue heavens. With the wispy grass stroking shivers down his bare back…and on his lips, a celestial maiden's kiss…

Yuuhi shut his bleary eyes. Sweet sinful exhaustion. Did she want him? No…she _loved_ him. Who was she? His mind was inexplicably muddled, he felt almost delirious.

* * *

In the deep murk of his mind, he heard far-off tinkling laughter coming from the next room. Something wrenched in his gut. _Aya_. He didn't think he could bear it, living another day in close proximity to her, knowing he could never have her…

Another face seemed to float in front of him and he lay, transfixed by her sweet mouth. It held promises of the next night; she would come to him, claim him in her arms and…

_Hers_, Yuuhi thought, a strange tremor rocking his body. He didn't know what had possessed him to say this but it was crystal truth, it was inevitable. _I'm hers._

_Whose, really? _

Trembling, he got to his feet. It was a new day; Aya was waiting for him.

* * *

**In Greek Mythology, Endymion was a handsome mortal prince who captured the heart of the moon goddess, Selene. **

**Thanks for reading…reviews would be awesome ; )**


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